Tips

Saving Money

Your business is all about money. The money pays you, your employees, and keeps the lights on.

It’s easy to try to slash expenses to increase profit. A nice desk, with an experienced employee sitting there, costs a lot. Add IT service to the mix, and it costs even more.

As you grow, you need more money, and cutting expenses starts to look attractive. The next desk is not so nice. The next employee has less experience, so they cost less.

Then, you’re faced with other expenses, and it’s tempting to cut more corners. Today I’ll talk about what I’ve seen with computers.

Some businesses have old machines, and no organization from a tech standpoint. Servers -- if they exist -- might not be backed up. Employees are re-starting old computers multiple times a day. They’re staring at loading screens a lot. There’s no time or thought given to building an online presence. There are endless examples, but you get the idea.

Think about how much more your employees -- and you -- can get done with faster machines. Think about how relieved you’ll be when you have a good backup after your machine dies. Think about the production gains you’ll get when you have a trusted partner who fixes your IT problems right away. Think about how impressed your customers or patients will be when they experience how you’ve got your stuff together. Like a boss.

Being great is about serving people well. You want to provide the best service around. Start by looking around. Identify technology shortcomings in your office and examine how those shortcomings affect productivity. See which questions or problems your customers are having, and determine if there’s a way to better serve them.

A good way to start this process is to talk to employees and customers. Find out what could be better. You might get an earful, but that’s great! Remember that being cheap didn’t get you to where you are today. It’s quite likely that spending a bit of money in the right places will propel your business to new heights.